Community Forums

Wanabee FTer · 11-30-2010, 10:14 AM

I would like to know how warm you keep your space at night when boondocking. I suspect we will be dry camping in areas that get down into the low 20's possible teens. Since I am starting out with 164 amp capacity batteries and no solar, I am just wondering if we will make it through the night without space heaters. Would like to know roughly how many amps to run the heater and how much propane is needed to accomplish this. My wife is terrified of being too cold!

I know I could just try it and see, but hey that's what this forum is for right?

KJINTF · 11-30-2010, 10:50 AM

How warm do you want to be?

Not knowing what kind of heater you are talking about all I can say is my experience
Our forced air heating system set at 55 for the night with outside temps below 20F. The blower motor runs for about 1.5 hours total during the night. The motor draws 6amps. Do the math if your batteries are properly charged and you are not using other power, including power hungry incandescent lights. You are good to go. Your propane should last many weeks.

A suggestion you might want to try a warmer blanket.

I replaced the stock "cheap" thermostat that had a ZERO degree differential offset, which caused the blower motor to click on/off dozens of additional times with a proper programmable unit set at 3 degrees offset. This alone was a huge power savings.

Wanabee FTer · 11-30-2010, 10:55 AM

I would have no problem with 55 degree's, DW wants nothing under 70 !
using a Suburban forced air heater.

KJINTF · 11-30-2010, 11:00 AM

Good Luck!
Might need to get up at night and start up the engine a few times
How is the rigs insulation?
The warmer blanket is still the best solution
But do not try as my wife does to use the 12Volt electric blanket
There goes another 2 to 4 amps

Always-RVing · 11-30-2010, 11:06 AM

Full-hookup: I was going through 30 gallons of propane about every two weeks last winter. I was also using space heaters at the same time. Well, motorhomes are just not the best thing for insulation (heat or cooling). Batteries will drain within a few hours. I added another space heater (now 3), and the two furnaces are staying off for longer periods of time. So far, it looks better than last year. Temps are currently running from the teens to low twenties at night.

There's no way my wife would live with 55 degrees. Men can,,, Not women.

Wanabee FTer · 11-30-2010, 11:11 AM

Wondering if I change the batteries to 2-6 volts (225 Amps) and change the t-stat if that would be enough. We do not have an inverter, so no TV and Microwave to factor in.

KJINTF · 11-30-2010, 11:15 AM

Come on out to Montana for the winter
The high today might be 15F
Last weeks lows were -20F or more
Now January gets cold at -30F or more, we have seen -40F/C once in a while
The weather helps keep the tourists away
The RV is put away in October for the duration which provides time for other activities, Snow sleds, skiing, etc.
Proper insulation helps a lot at both extremes

Midniteoyl · 11-30-2010, 11:18 AM

Thats my plan - 2x6V's. Those extra Ah's really seem to go longer than you'd think.

Do you have room to add the 6V's and keep the 12's? Almost 400Ah would be sweet and you could keep it above 65* to boot

hdossett · 11-30-2010, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wanabee FTer

I would have no problem with 55 degree's, DW wants nothing under 70 !.

I think this is what you need to work on first.

We don't go ofter when the temps are much below freezing. That said, it in not unusual for the inside to drop down to 40, or lower. I usually get up first, by an hour or so. Turn furnace on 58-60 (warm enough for me). When M gets up she sets it to 64. Sometimes, it does not go off in that hour!

We have 300 watts of solar and 6 GCs, and with out a lot of sun, (more heat needed and less charging), we will run the gen about an hour a day. IIRC, my blower draws ~8 amps.

Wanabee FTer · 11-30-2010, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midniteoyl

Thats my plan - 2x6V's. Those extra Ah's really seem to go longer than you'd think.

Do you have room to add the 6V's and keep the 12's? Almost 400Ah would be sweet and you could keep it above 65* to boot

I have room for 3 group 24- 12 volts or 2-6 volts, not quite enough for 4-6 volts.

KJINTF · 11-30-2010, 12:05 PM

I completely understand the battery space limitations. Reached my limit and will be replacing the GC batteries with AGM batteries this winter. That nasty gassing and corrosion from the wet cell batteries is not needed or wanted anymore.

What might be easier than replacing the batteries and trying to keep 70 degrees up north would be to add several hundred gallons of fuel and go south for the winter.

Midniteoyl · 11-30-2010, 12:09 PM

So.. two 6v plus one 12v 225+85=310Ah.. Plus a spare 12v.

Wanabee FTer · 11-30-2010, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midniteoyl

So.. two 6v plus one 12v 225+85=310Ah.. Plus a spare 12v.

Why didn't I think of that. Yes 2-6 volts in series connected to 1-12 volt in parallel for the house, probably the best bet for my situation. Still don't know if that will be enough.

KJINTF · 11-30-2010, 12:33 PM

Guys
Be very careful connecting batteries of different kinds in parallel
The weaker one WILL destroy the more powerful one
Might take a while but you will be buying all new batteries
Better to think about buying a Perko switch to isolate the batteries